During the year, I became ever more involved in the local photography scene, and helped the MIPP, one of the local photography organisations, to get through a pretty tough year after some radical changes. It was hard work but greatly inspiring. I can now start giving back some of what I have received, helping those who love photography immerse themselves into the art.

Throughout this period I was working on a new set of architecture images which eventually were presented for the Associate qualification. I was greatly encouraged by the judges’ comments which I will treasure for a long time to come. This was a goal I needed to achieve, and it helped me gain more confidence in my abilities.

I am now ready to move to the next step – a step further into the direction of art. It is important for the artistic community to understand that photography is not about creating technically perfect images. Photography is just another medium for the expression of art. It is a very particular medium in itself. It is a tool which allows us to manipulate reality, and show only what we want to show, the way we want to show it. No wonder it was, and still is, a favourite medium for the surrealists. When looking at a photograph, viewers cannot help but associating what they see with what they know, and that is a very strong manipulative tool in the hands of the artist. It takes time to master this technique of distorting reality, but when we manage, the whole world flips upside down. It becomes a dream – rooted in reality, but free of reality’s constraints. I look forward with excitement to the moment I will manage to master that. This is the path I will be taking throughout the coming years.

This coming year, I also plan to participate in some exhibitions. It is time to expose myself once again to the world. I will be doing this through a few collaborative exhibitions – at least that is the plan. I will not reveal details as yet, since they are still on the drawing board, however I can say that there will be some experimentation involved.

The coming year promises to be a very exciting one ahead. I plan to make it so. I have been encouraged greatly throughout the past years, and it is thanks to this continuous encouragement and support that I am able to keep ploughing through. So I keep ploughing through – one day there will be a harvest to collect.

Finally, I wish you all a successful year ahead, full of joy, success and unrestrained creativity.

The nominated image is one of my first works to be exhibited, and is entitled “Beach Shop”. The image portrays the common and generally unnoticed as glamorous and imposing, creating an impact through the realisation that whilst most of us have seen this or similar scenes before, we never really gave it such importance. Beauty is also in the simple things, and it is up to the photographer to realise this and portray it.